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Francis Mettler |
43. Francis Mettler (Married Hannah Mashon (Meshon) (Mershon) (#44) on 20 February 1821). (Source of light blue information is Donna Patterson, a G-G-Great Granddaughter of Francis Mettler and Hannah. The information was sent via e-mail to Susan Snyder in 2014).
Born: 7 November, 1798 [Source: Grave Registration Cards A-Z, Soldiers buried in Ohio from the Revolutionary War to World War II [microfilm] [ca. 1810 - 1967], Ohio Historical Society]; 4 December 1796 in Warren County, New Jersey (according to Find-A-Grave Index); 7 November 1796 (Source: Ancestor Search Birthday Calculator using death date below) in New Jersey of Francis Mettler (#85) & Unknown Mother. (#86).
Died: 6 October 1875 at the age of 78 y, 10 m, 29 days at Salt Creek in Hocking County. [Source: Hocking County Death Records Volume 1 1867-1883 p. 64.] According to this source, Francis was a farmer and died of consumption. In the microfilm of the original document, it states that he was a carpenter and died of dropsy. The next person in the list is described as a farmer who died of consumption. [Note: It is likely that Francis was a farmer and not a carpenter.] The microfilm record spelled his name Fransis Mettler. He had lived in Laurel Township. The Grave Registration Cards A-Z, Soldiers buried in Ohio from the Revolutionary War to World War II [microfilm] [ca. 1810 - 1967], Ohio Historical Society, states that he died 10 6-1875 and is buried in Belleview Cemetery, Colerain Twp, Ross County, Section 2, Grave. 93. According to that source, there is a veterans' marker on his grave. On visits to the grave site by Susan Leach Snyder (#2) in 2006, there was no veterans' marker. (GPS: 39° 28.024' N, 82° 44.617' W). His tombstone is shown at the bottom of this page.
Miscellaneous: Although Francis' mother is unknown, he was a junior). At some point, the Mettler family originated in Germany.Francis Mettler is listed in the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). According to the Index, he was born in 1790 in New Jersey and he served in the War of 1812. The listing is in Volume 117 of AGBI, page 140. [Source: Records of the Officers and Men of NJ in Wars 1791-1815. Trenton, NJ. 1909. (369 p.):77.] Another reference states that Francis Mettler was in the 2nd Reg’t (Seward’s ) New Jersey Militia. He was a private. Roll-Box 143, Roll-Exct M602.
Sometime after Francis' death in 1875 and before her own death in 1895, his widow, Hannah, applied for a pension for Francis' service in the War of 1812. That application is below and lists his service under Captain Benjamin Coleman's Company, New Jersey Militia. It is unknown by this webmaster whether or not Hannah received the pension.
Francis moved from New Jersey to Ohio. He was one of the first settlers in Hocking County. In frontier Ohio, he was a wealthy farmer. He owned the Old Man’s Cave area. Reference for this information is a personal letter from Mike Thatcher (another relative of Francis) to Russell Leach (#3) on July 29, 1985.
According to A Standard History of Ross County Ohio Vol. II, 1987, p. 854-855, Ohio Historical Society, “Grandfather Mettler [Francis] in 1838 started with his family and a wagon and team over the western trails for Ohio. At that time the greater part of the southern part of the state was heavily timbered, and the more fertile bottom lands, not having been drained, were fertile sources of malaria and other diseases. In consequence of this condition, Francis Mettler settled on the hills of Hocking County, in the vicinity of Rock House. He devoted his remaining years to clearing and cultivating the soil, and died there at the age of seventy-five. He married a Miss Mashon and they became the parents of a large family of fifteen children.” Two of their sons were Peter [Note: He is referred to in A Standard History of Ross County Ohio Vol. II] and Andrew [He is buried at the family site with Francis and Hannah]. One of his daughters was Levina (Alvina (#22). Another daughter was Sarah Mettler, born 4 October 1831, who came to Hocking County at about 9 years of age. She married James R. Bushee (a blacksmith) on 9 November 1851. [Note: The source of this information about Sarah is History of Hocking County, Chicago Inter-State Publishing Co. 1883, p. 1113.] [Note: Actually, Francis died in 1875 at the age of 78, not 75. He and Hannah were married and had children before moving to Ohio. For example, Levina was born in 1824 in New Jersey. It is not known if she was their first child. Hannah would have been about 21 and Francis 28 when Levina was born.]
Fourteen of their possibly 15 children are listed in this paragraph. The source of many of these names was a posting on Ancestry.com by Rick Ratliff family tree. Children include: Levina (Alvina (#22), Aaron, Harriett, Francis, Eliza, Peter, Sarah, Mary, Bartlett, Emilene, Andrew B., Samuel, Amanda, and James. [Note: Some of these names have been confirmed by the 1850 Census of Hocking County, A Standard History of Ross County Vol II, 1987, and History of Hocking County, Chicago Inter-State Publishing Co., 1883, p. 1113. However other names need further confirmation.]
On 29 May 1839, Francis purchased 84.2 acres in Hocking County, Ohio. At the time of his purchase, his residence was in Perry County, Ohio. The location of the land he purchased is shown on the survey map below. The source of this map is Section Maps with Entrymen on Lands in Hocking Co., Ohio Vol. 2 by L. Richard Kocher, 1993. The page is titled, "Lists Sale Date and Residence, Ohio River Survey, Congressional Lands, Range No 18 Township No. 12 Section No 35, Laurel Township, Hocking Co, Ohio. The map was found in an Ohio Land Records Search. It shows that Francis purchased 84.28 acres from the land office in Chillicothe, Ohio. The date of issue was June 25, 1841. The land is located in Laurel Township. The document # is 11407 and the legal land description is Aliquot Parts: 1 SENE, 2NESE, Base Line: Ohio River Survey Township: 12 N, Range: 18 W, Section #: 35. Further documentation of this purchase is that Francis is listed in the Ohio, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents for the land office in Chillicothe, Document Number 11407. That document verifies that he purchased 84.28 acres as a sale-cash entry. The Statutory Reference is 3 Stat.566. The Act or Treaty: 24 April 1820.
The 1850 Census shows that Francis was a farmer and lived next door to his son-in-law, John Thatcher (#21) , and daughter, Alvina (#22). At the time the census was taken, Francis and his wife had seven children living at home. The children were aged 4 to 20. [Note: Susan Snyder has not located any map that shows John's property].
On 16 August 1852, Francis purchased 41.1 additional acres. The location of this land is shown below. The source of this map is Section Maps with Entrymen on Lands in Hocking County, Ohio Vol. 1 by L. R. Kocher. The page is titled, “Ohio River Survey, Congressional Lands, Range No 17 Township No 13 Section 18, Washington Township, Hocking Co, Ohio."
The 1860 census for Benton Township, Hocking County, Ohio (Post Office: South Bloomingville) shows Francis Medler (age 63) is the head of the household. Living with him are Hannah Medler (age 56), Andrew Medler (age 20), Samuel Medler (age 16) and Amanda Medler (age 13). On the census page, with just one family listed between them, is John Thatcher (his son-in-law) with John's wife (Francis' daughter) and 10 children.
1870 Census: The scanned image that is posted online at the ancestry.com website from the 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. is very difficult to read, but it has been transcribed by ancestry.com as stating: Frank Medler, age in 1870: 73, Birth Year: About 1797, Birthplace: New Jersey, was living in Laurel, Hocking, Ohio. The Post Office was Gibisonville. The transcription states that Frank Medler was 73 and Hannah Medler was 66. [Note: According to Wikipedia, Gibisonville is an unincorporated community in Hocking County, located on Ohio State Route 678, 9 miles west-southwest of Logan. Gibisonville was laid out in 1840 and named for its founders, Samuel and William Gibison. "A post office was established at Gibisonville in 1850, and remained in operation until 1969." This census record is likely for Francis Mettler born about 1796 in New Jersey. Hannah born in 1803 would have been 67 in 1870.]
The map below is of Gibisonville, Laurel Township, Hocking County. The map is scanned from Atlas of Hocking Co, Ohio, Titus, Simmons & Titus 1876, Philadelphia. Bordered in red, Francis’ land is East and Southeast of Big Pine Creek and South and Southwest of Little Black Jack Branch. [Note: The map proves his land was located near Old Man’s Cave, not Rock House. Also, it is interesting to note that this is an 1876 map. Francis died in 1875.]
Below is an enlargement of one section of the map above. Note F. Mettler's land has been colored pink by the webmaster. The left plot is labelled 84. This is likely the 84 acres Francis purchased in 1839. The plot to the right says 42. This likely includes the 41.1 acres Francis purchased in 1852. Between these two plots of land is land labelled C. Mettler 125. The relationship of this Mettler is unknown, but the 125 is likely the acreage..
There is a Family Bible record of Francis Mettler (Medler) and Hanna Meshon/ [contributed by] Daughters of the American Colonists, Old Trails Chapter (Columbus, Ohio). [198-?) Library: California State Library--Sutro, subject: Mettler family. Call number CSL Sutro F490 B5 v. 8. This Bible is in the possession of his great granddaughter Helen F. Mettler.Below: On a visit to Belleview Cemetery in Adelphi, Ohio by Susan Leach Snyder (#2) and her husband on 24 June 2006, Francis Mettler's tombstone was located under a tree, upside down and buried in dirt and weeds. The stone was broken in half. After cleaning the top half of the stone and applying blue chalk, part of the stone could be read. It said "Francis Mettler Died Oct.? 1875 Aged 78 Y" The rest of that side of the stone could not be read. The opposite side of the stone read "Hannah Wife of F. Mettler." A third side of the stone said "Our Parents."
On 2 July 2006, on a return trip to the cemetery, Susan and her husband, Jim, cleared the cemetery plot and removed the bottom half of the stone from the dirt. The bottom inscription is shown and transcribed below:
Remember friends as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you will be
Prepare for death and follow me
Lifetime Events Summary for Francis Mettler:
The webmaster's DNA has matched no less than 18 other members in a Francis Mettler (Medler) DNA Circle in ancestry.com.
Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@gmail.com
